Who thought that the game would be THAT close. Sure, it was on the road, but Boomer Sooner had lost 4 in a row and were trailing by as many as 17 at one point in the second half. Still, last night's game made me think this team is a better team than I thought we were going into it. It doesn't make too much sense at the beginning, but after looking at it deeper you will see what I mean, if you don't already understand.
Bill Self agrees with me:
They got their wish Monday night.
"It's the best scenario. I just wish we'd played better. But it's the best scenario to have a grind-it-out game and win (this time of year)," Self said.
I wish that we could have played better, especially certain players (i.e. Brandon Rush) and especially in the second half but overall I was fairly impressed. We didn't handle the press well at all, at least the first 5 minutes we were facing the pressure, but it is something we can improve on. I gurantee one thing, we will play a team in the Tournament that will at least try and press us, whether it is because they don't think we can handle it or whether it is a part of their defensive package. Self will get plenty of practice time in on getting the ball up the court against the press, I'm sure.
Here is the boxscore, I was planning on doing a full blown review but that is going to have to wait until tomorrow.
Rock Chalk!